On how the songwriting sessions for "Storm Corrosion" are progressing:

Wilson: "In March we started [working on the material for it]. It's sporadic, because we get together once every three months. [Mikael] comes over to my studio and we work for a few days and we get really drunk on red wine, go buy loads of records and then come back, and if we're lucky, do, like, ten minutes work. But the incredible thing was that although, comparatively, we haven't worked that long, what we produced we were so happy with, and we are so happy with. It's nice to know that what we always suspected was that when we actually got together, it was gonna be quite easy. It was also in the back of your mind, thinking, 'Maybe it won't work.' Maybe it [was] just built up so much [in my head before we started writing songs], and it was so easy. So easy. And the music was so crazy and so inspiring to both of us. So I think that was good to feel, like, 'It's gonna work.' So we have about, I'd say, 25 minutes of music [written] so far. We're getting together again in November to do another piece or two. Drink some more wine, buy some more records... So that's kind of a work in progress, and I don't know when that will come out. Then it would be great to do some shows around that, too, but he's [Mikael] gonna be back with OPETH next year at some point, so it may not be feasible. But certainly the record [should be ready to be recorded and released by then]."

On the similarities and differences between PORCUPINE TREE and OPETH and how they play into the new project:

Wilson: "The funny thing is that the music we're making together is actually nothing like either of us made before. Because I think we both had this idea of this kind of music that we knew we couldn't get our bands to play, but that we both kind of understood where we were coming from. 'Cause we have this kind of passion [for] very experimental, obscure records, almost orchestral in their scope. And we wanted to make a record like that for a long time. It's a long way from metal and it's a long way from anything that, I think, Mikael has ever done, including the 'Damnation' record [from OPETH]. I think a lot of people thought, 'Oh, it's gonna be like 'Damnation'.' It's not; it's a long way from that, too. And it's actually a long way from anything I've done; [it's] possibly closer to aspects of things I've done, but really quite distinct from anything I've ever [released]. [It's] very orchestral, lots of strings, lots of guitars and vocals, too. Lots of very long songs that kind of go in different directions that you don't necessarily expect them to go in — almost theatrical in a way. And we both kind of admitted to ourselves that there are a lot of fans out there that are probably gonna hate it. But we're doing it for us. The one thing we didn't wanna do is get together and do a prog-metal supergroup, which would have been so easy to do — and kind of expected, in a way. And, you know, we might do that anyway one day. But this time around, we thought, 'Let's just do this [kind of] record.' Some people will love it and some people will not, and that's OK, because, in a way, I don't think we wanted to just give what was expected, and we're certainly not doing that."

On whether Steven and Mikael are self-producing the new project:

Wilson: "Right now, we kind of fall into my studio at midnight and work through the night and just... It's great, because in many respects, Mikael is the closest I know to someone who is... How do I put this? He's the equivalent of me in his band. He's like the captain of the ship and we kind of understand each other — all the frustrations of being in that position, all the stresses and pressures of being in that situation — so because of that, there's no ego thing at all — yet! [Laughs] But we're both kind of control freaks, in a way, so that's kind of a strange situation to be, where you're working with someone where you don't feel any of those issues and you have that complete trust. So we're just like... [I go], 'Here, you have the guitar. Do something amazing.' And he does. And then I'm like, 'Oh, I've got an idea for that,' and I do some keyboard thing. And he's like, 'That's amazing! I love that.' And so it's really... It sounds like we're kind of blowing each other the whole time... [Laughs] But it's just so much fun. And that's the important thing — I think it's fun. Because there's no ego and there's no pressure. Because people don't know what to expect. And we've kind of already resigned ourselves to the fact that we're gonna do something that people are gonna hate, anyway. I mean, I'm exaggerating... I'm sure a lot of people are gonna dig it. But people are gonna be surprised by it. We're not giving people what they expect, so there's little pressure, really — there's very little pressure. It's just literally swapping instruments and I'm kind of recording it on my own system."

In a recent interview with U.K.'s Classic Rock, Åkerfeldt stated about the writing process for the "Storm Corrosion" CD, "I got together recently with Steven at his house, and we wrote a new tune straight away. Of course, with the two of us involved, it was 10 minutes long. And it came out so well that we started working on a second one as well."

Although DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy was initially supposed to be part of the project, it now appears that he will no longer be involved.

"To be honest, there's just no room for drums on what we've done so far," Åkerfeldt said. "I called Mike up, and he was cool about it. He's got so much going on anyway, and I'm sure we will work together in the future."

[smalltownamericarecords.blogspot.com] And So I Watch You From Afar - AMERICA 2010 - it took 5 weeks to tour... here it is in 7 minutes 14 seconds.

Please note this is just random footage and not to be perceived as making any sense. This is the preview to the full length film/rockumentary of ASIWYFA in America. Watch this space for the full length.

[smalltownamericarecords.blogspot.com] Illness present their 2nd documentary film; this time their subject is recent tourmates and STA favourites Shield Your Eyes.

This is a short documentary I made about the UK band, Shield Your Eyes, consisting of an even mix between live footage and mechanical intuition, before a full performance of their song, 'Come On Melissa Are You A Kisser'.

The band have recently released their third album, 'Theme From Kindness', available through their Myspace or through Function Records, and they are constantly touring the UK and Europe.

'Come On Melissa Are You A Kisser' is available on their first album, 'Shield Your Eyes', also available via the band's myspace.

This is the second of hopefully many short band documentaries by Illness, and is edited in part by Stef from Shield Your Eyes.

[sargenthouse.tumblr.com] Tera Melos returns to the USA hot off the heels of their Japan/Korea tour on 10/26 and will immediately hit the streets for more shows, this time with ol’ pals Maps & Atlases. Don’t miss these shows folks, we’ve been getting asked for these two bands to play together since 2006 so here is your chance. I think I’m going to fly in for the Baltimore one myself.

Friday, October 29, 2010

*[theprp.com] Far guitarist/producer Shaun Lopez has revealed via his Twitter that he has been in the studio with Deftones frontman Chino Moreno as of late. He offered the following on the sessions:

“Day 3 with @chinowmoreno for new sexy time music. Slopez up at 9am in order to do so? Believe it.”

*Big Businesss have added a fourth member to the band, check out what they had to say about the addition...

"Babies! Where has the time gone? It seems like a year since the Biz have played any shows! That's because it HAS been a year since the Biz have played any shows. Why is that? Is it because they're lazy? High on the dope? Gout acting up again? Maybe all three, we'll never know.

What we do know is that sometime in that year (it was August) the men of the Biz gave birth to a BRAND NEW BAND MEMBER! His name is Scott Martin (400 Blows, Crom), he weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 170 pounds, LOVES his video games, and even plays a musical instrument. We don't know what instrument he plays, but we hope it's guitar as that's what he's playing in the Biz. We also hope he's not a crybaby. Coady, Jared, and Toshi could not be happier with their new baby. The Biz loves being a power quartet!

Come to Spaceland 10/29 (tonight!) in beautiful Los Angeles, California to see Scott strut his stuff with his new family. We reeeeeaally hope he doesn't disappoint us."

*[pitchfork.com] When Deerhunter played Portland's Wonder Ballroom last night, frontman Bradford Cox broke out an acoustic guitar, and the band played a faithful cover of Scott Walker's 1969 classic "30 Century Man". Not too many people in indie rock are brave enough to take on a singer as iconic and distinctive as Walker, but Cox is nothing if not brave. Clumsy342 filmed the performance, with crisp audio and nice black-and-white visuals. Watch it below...

*So you can pre-order Vietwow!'s debut double A-Side "If You Ever Leave Me / Hole In The Head" RIGHT NOW, either on FLOPPY DISK or DIGITALLY from the lovely folks at Idle Hands Club. The group features former members of UK post punk revivalists Blakfish and Meet Me In St. Louis. GO HERE!

[press release] While on tour in Norway this summer, playing in Them Crooked Vultures, Alain Johannes did an impromptu performance of “Endless Eyes,” the powerful opening track off his solo debut, Spark. Fortunately TCV/Queens of the Stone Age frontman Joshua Homme (whose label Rekords Rekords released Johannes’ album) was on hand to film the moving performance. If you didn’t catch it when it premiered on Ultimate-Guitar, watch the video below. The footage was filmed next to the Hove Festival, where Johannes and Homme performed an hour later.

Spark is an ode to Natasha Shneider, Johannes’ late wife and creative partner who passed away in 2008. From beginning to end, the album showcases the remarkable technical precision and versatility that has made Johannes such an in-demand guitar player. It also reveals him to be far more than a rock guitarist, with elements of classical, flamenco, and Indian music displayed throughout. Tying it all together is his ability to craft melodies ripe with nuance, which is what truly makes each of the eight tracks captivating and emotionally resonant.

Johannes will be heading out on tour next month in support of Fistful of Mercy (the new band featuring Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur, and George Harrison’s son Dhani Harrison). Don’t miss your chance see him live!

FANG ISLAND are heading out on their own headline tour with Delicate Steve joining them on all the dates. They will also have with them a special 7” treat, a limited edition run - with hand made packaging, made by the band! (we’ll post pictures once we have some). It features the song "Patterns On The Wall" written by Joe Buzzell who also sings on the track along with special guest Andrew WK. They are available at the shows and for pre-order in their online store. Only made a few hundred so don’t miss out. You can hear the song on Pitchfork HERE!

"It's finally here! It's finally here! We're now taking pre-orders for the debut EP by Boston, MA's LAVINIA! This is the first recorded output by this band, which is made up of current and former members of Caspian, Eksi Ekso, The Burning Paris, On Fire, The Fatal Flaw, Everdown, and probably a bunch more awesomeness that you could rattle off =) We've been talking about them for months now and you probably already know everything we're going to say, so we'll just drop the bio below and then list the ordering options and you can get crazy with it! You can expect these to be arriving in early December, unless you order a CD alone by itself - those will ship next week. If your order includes any other Lavinia stuff though (LP, t-shirt, etc), it will ship in early December. The CD and digital formats will be available in stores and online worldwide on 11.16.10, the vinyl will only be able from us and the band (our distributor will get a very small quantity if you run a record store and would like to stock it). Artwork design & layout were handled by N. Shumaker/Northern Lights Industries and all the pertinent packaging, recording, and mastering details can be found below:

The CD and 12" vinyl versions of the album contain alternate artwork of each other, and well... both freakin' rule! The vinyl version is available on either silver vinyl (limited to 100 copies) or bronze/silver swirl (limited to 300). The jacket is printed on super thick, 20pt stock with two pantones and it includes a two-sided full color insert with complete lyrics and additional artwork. The CD version of the album is packaged in a four panel digipak jacket of super thick, recycled stock with a pantone. The CD itself includes a two-color disc face with a matching pantone to the jacket... magnifique!!! Get hip, dummy:

"LAVINIA, a new band hailing from Boston, MA, introduces their debut EP "There Is Light Between Us". The band consists of current & former members of indie rock heavyweights such as Caspian, Eksi Ekso, The Burning Paris, On Fire, and the Fatal Flaw, but should never be confused as some sort of "side project"...

Bleak, dark, and unforgiving - LAVINIA trudge through terrain that is much different than any of the members other projects. And while there is an underlying hope in each song, they dwell in an unshakable depression... a feeling of isolation and loneliness further exposed by the heart-on-the-sleeve vocals of guitarist/vocalist Nate Shumaker (ex-Eksi Ekso, On Fire, The Burning Paris, Everdown), that brings to mind a combination of Red House Painter's Mark Kozelek and The Cure's Robert Smith. Pair that up with the commanding bass wielding of Philip Jaimeson (main axe man of Caspian), the towering drum fills of Alex Mihm (Eksi Ekso), and the slide guitar & banjo atmospherics of Josh Megyesy (ex-On Fire, The Burning Paris, The Fatal Flaw), and you've got the makings of a band who's sound shares more in common with Roman mythology, than it does their own contemporaries and peers.

Recorded in multiple locations throughout 2010, including New Alliance with Ethan Dussault and Verse Media with John Helmig, and mastered by Jason Martin (Starflyer 59) in Riverside, CA, the EP captures the sound of a band discovering new and exciting sonic territory with no rules in place. LAVINIA takes us through five tracks in just under 28 minutes, which brings to mind the moodiness of bands such as Red House Painters, Mogwai, The Cure, early Crooked Fingers, Starflyer 59, and Scott Walker, while incorporating the heaviness of behemoths such as Black Sabbath, My Bloody Valentine, Isis, Jesu, and The Twilight Sad. The combination of these elements seamlessly meld together to create a document of visionary proportions."

[pitchfork.com] On Black Friday, November 26, Ohio blues-rockers the Black Keys will release a special limited edition, numbered box set version of their 2010 album Brothers. The set includes the album in two formats (CD and double 45-rpm vinyl), a bonus 10" record with six previously unreleased live songs, and a limited-edition poster.

The set is being released in honor of Record Store Day, since the folks behind the April brick-and-mortar holiday are also presenting a few special Black Friday releases. We've got the tracklist for the bonus 10" below.

In other Black Keys news, the band is holding a look-alike contest on their website now. If you think you and your friend look like Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, you could win an autographed guitar or band merch. It should be pretty easy to enter, since the band is currently selling Halloween costumes of themselves. Check HERE for all the details.

[NPR.org] No Age is a Los Angeles-based art-punk band that emerged from a grubby downtown venue called The Smell to earn a Grammy nomination for the photographs that accompanied its second album. The band is composed of two former skate-punks, now 27 and 28: Dean Spunt plays a lot of drums and sings lead, Randy Randall plays even more guitar and sings occasionally, and both lay on samples to fill things out.

Their 2007 debut was called Weirdo Rippers, and though it had its rockers, it was kind of slow for a punk record. On that album and 2008's somewhat more melodic and speedy Nouns, sonics always come first, with specifics varying from track to track.

They're not for everyone, but I found both records surprisingly beautiful — it's like they're miniaturizing Glenn Branca guitar symphonies. On Everything in Between, however, you might think No Age was harking back to their skate-punk roots.

As somebody who's thrilled to propulsive punk riffs for 35 years, I want to testify that the shrieking tumult in "Fever Dreaming" is the coolest new one I've encountered in this century. It channels No Age's adventures in sonic architecture into readily usable form. If it makes a few softies flee the room, well, that's one of its uses.

Then, just before the end of the record, comes the defiant "Shed and Transcend," which does for the propulsive punk barrage what "Fever Dreaming" does for the propulsive punk riff.

If you wonder about the words on this more songful album, well, despite an earlier line that goes "I try to make myself seem vague," I'd argue that lines like "I try the best I can" and "These things make you human" (which you'd hear in "Shed and Transcend" if you were trying) reach out to those they address and are never cynical or apathetic. I'd also argue that No Age's commitment to song form makes its reach-out more credible. That means that when Spunt and Randall revisit their atmospheric side, they're proffering genuine comfort.

[SPIN.com] During this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, TX, artists stopped by the American Express® ZYNC ZONE, to chat with SPIN about their summer festival experiences and much more, among them Wayne Coyne, frontman of indie rock veterans the Flaming Lips -- watch our video interview, plus performance footage below!

According to frontman Wayne Coyne, Austin has always been very welcoming to his band’s unusual antics.

“Austin was one of the first places that allowed us to play, this was in 1984,” Coyne said. “We ran into a lot of weirdos and suddenly we didn’t feel like being the Flaming Lips from Oklahoma was such a bad thing.”

Coyne also said creating music with the band is a necessity to his own well being.

“If you’re lucky or however you want to call it, if you’re like me you do it because… if I don’t do it I’ll go insane,” he said.

*[theprp.com] A Perfect Circle performed their track “Weak And Powerless” on last night’s (October 27th) episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!“, footage can be found below:

The band also performed their rendition of John Lennon‘s “Imagine” during the credits, with footage of that available below:

Rehearsals for the performance saw the band perform “Passive” and “Judith“. A number of fan-filmed videos of differing quality from the rehearsals have already made their way to Youtube.

*[theprp.com] The Deftones‘ new video for their track “You’ve Seen The Butcher” has hit premiered online and can be viewed below. The group filmed the clip in the Toronto, Ontario area this past September with director Jodeb (Despised Icon).

Brooklyn, New York is the home to one of my favorite psychedelic revivalist bands, Weird Owl. The band have been making swirling acid trip induced rock for the past five years, aging like a fine wine. The band released their Tee Pee Records debut full length Ever The Silver Chord be Loosed early last year, and I've been hooked since. Long spaced-out stoner rock jamming and vivid face melting visionary trips run rampant on the record with intense authenticity. Nearly two years since the release, I got a chance at CMJ to speak with lead guitarist/vocalist Trevor Tyrell to discuss their sophomore album and plans surrounding the next year...

EIS: I know that you guys have been working real hard on your next album, how’s that coming along?

Trevor Tyrell: Good, we’re almost finished tracking. I’m going upstate tomorrow to do the last vocals tracks that have to be done. We should be basically done, maybe a couple of cosmetic things over the top, and time for mixing and mastering, but we’re supposed to have it in any day now to the record label so it’ll be out probably in February or March of next year. Just in time for us to go down to SXSW and promote it.EIS: What can we expect in comparison to the first record? Any changes?

TT: Yeah, I think it’s a huge difference. The first album that we released on Tee Pee our current bass player and other guitar player had just started with us, so that was kind of a document of a certain point in time. At this point, now they’ve been playing with us for two more years. The song writing is more concise, it’s not as expansive with just jam out sections as the first record… that might be good, might be bad depending on what you like. The song writing is more to the point, but it’s still the same heavy vibe lyrically and otherwise.

EIS: Where did you record the first record?

TT: It was primarily recorded in Brooklyn at this one studio, but really really quickly. It was done in a matter of days, recording and mixing. There wasn’t a lot of experimentation that happened, there wasn’t a lot of open space to explore. It was “this is the time we paid for, this is the time we have to record, so this is what has to get done” and we didn’t really have much to go back and fiddle with. This one has been in more locations and has been more open to "fiddling"… not fiddling… there’s no fiddle on the record!EIS: You mentioned SXSW, are you guys planning on doing a national tour heading out there or back from Texas?

TT: We don’t really know just yet. We’re definitely going down there for the label showcases and whatever shows we can pick up. The idea would be nice for us to tour our way down there, or back, or both. We’ll have to see, we need to get that worked out. There are plenty of bands that we’re friends with that will be in and around the area, so we’ll try and see what we can do about that.

EIS: Is touring the country a priority for the next album, or not so much?

TT: Parts of the country, sure [laughs]. Not to say anything negative about any other parts of the country but last summer we were out on the West Coast and it was a blast! We were with Assemble Head [in Sunburst Sound], who is on the label, and it was so much fun and we got such a great reception. We’d love to do that again, maybe for a little bit longer than we did last time. Obviously we want to give the record as much promotion, as much push as we can, so we’ll see.

EIS: I know that several people in the media have given a lot of shit to the title of the first record, Ever the Silver Chord Be Loosed. Where does the name come from?

TT: It comes from the Bible [laughs], believe it or not… in the Old Testament. It’s one of those weird esoteric portions in Ecclesiastes. Ever the Silver Chord Be Loosed refers to astral projection basically… you’re capable of leaving your body in so many ways, psychically, astrally. Classical literature says you’re connected to your body by this silver chord. In the Bible it talks about how when death occurs, that silver chord is loosened and the golden bowl is broken and that’s when you’re done in your incarnation. That whole record came out of dreams and out of body experiences through different practices and procedures, so Ever The Silver Chord Be Loosed kind of made sense for that record since it wasn’t coming from waking reality. It fit in an out of body way.EIS: Seems fitting to the music on the record. Since we’re at the Tee Pee showcase and the majority of the label is here, if you had to pick a labelmate to hit the road with, who would it be?

TT: Definitely Assemble Head. I love most of the bands on the label, not all of them… but we had such a great time with them on the West Coast, and their vibe matches us so well. They’re a little bit more unhinged than we are in certain ways and that’s a great thing. We match up with them personality-wise and musical-wise, it’s such a great marriage. As much as I say our thing is being really concise and compact these days, they’re the opposite in many ways and I like the dynamic. They’re a great band and we love them as people too.

EIS: When playing shows locally in Brooklyn/Manhattan, is there a similar scene of bands for Weird Owl to share bills with, or is it tough to find like minded bands?

TT: It’s a little weird New York, I feel as if there are plenty of bands on a similar tip, but there’s not a community as much. We get along with everyone we play with and there are certain bands we play with more, but that’s the bands. The people that come to the show… if there are people that come to the show [laughs], it’s not a community or insular world so it becomes difficult. When we were out on the West Coast it was way different and that’s the reason we want to go back there. Never having been in San Francisco before, we packed a show out there. Not ever being to Seattle before, on a Monday night we had basically a sold out show. It’s a different vibe of what happens.EIS: Anything else you want the Exploding In Sound readers to know?

TT: We have a new record coming out, it’s called Build Your Beast A Fire, and it’s a pretty cool record.

EIS: How many tracks will it be?

TT: It’s not for sure, probably eight or nine. It’s a different vibe from our first record, but it’s not completely alien. You’ll know it’s the same band, but it’s a different exploration of what we can do.

[billboard.com] ROO-KEYS OF THE YEAR: Akron, Ohio's the Black Keys reach the top spot on Alternative Songs with their first chart entry, as "Tighten Up" ascends 2-1.

The song appears on the act's sixth studio album, "Brothers," which soars 48-27 as the Greatest Gainer (14,000, up 64%, according to Nielsen SoundScan) on the Billboard 200 to be released tomorrow (Oct. 28). The set debuted at No. 3 on the June 5, chart with sales of 73,000.

"Tighten Up," which grants the Nonesuch imprint a No. 1 with its first Alternative Songs entry, is a "perfect example of a five-year plan that now has led to massive success," says Warner Bros. VP/alternative promotion Rob Goldklang, citing the band's first release on Nonesuch, "Magic Potion," in 2006.

"We sent 'Tighten Up' to radio seven months ago with early support from only a few stations. An incredible marketing plan helped lead to the album's strong sales, amazing placement on TV ("Gossip Girl," "House," "Hung") and a sold-out headlining tour." A Subaru campaign featuring the song has begun, as well, notes Goldklang.

"All of us at Warner Bros., Nonesuch and Q Prime Management are thankful to alternative radio and feel that this is just the beginning."

[pitchfork.com] Greg Gutfeld, the host of the Fox News show "Red Eye", loves heavy music. We know this. He's had F**ked Up frontman Damian Abraham and Gwar's Oderus Urungus on the show a few times, and he tends to get really amped to interview bands. Still, nothing can quite prepare our collective brain for the "Red Eye" video that follows: Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate, current Fox News host, and all-around conservative icon Mike Huckabee apparently going nuts while praising the Florida fuzz-metal band Torche.

The video, which you can watch below (via Stereogum) ran Monday night on "Red Eye", and it features Huckabee's animated head (which certainly sounds like the real Huckabee) describing himself as the show's "resident doom metal expert" and saying the following about Torche: "If you haven't heard of them, you're probably a racist homophobe. You oughta be in prison forever, in a cage made out of your own bones."

A couple of members of Torche also appeared on "Red Eye" last night, anticlimactically enough. You can also watch that video below, via Brooklyn Vegan...

[theheaviestmatteroftheuniverse.com] Only a very limited amount of times in my life have I heard a band, seen them play, talked with them and thought “Wow, this band just gets it.” Irepress is certainly one of these bands. An incredibly streamlined and cohesive mix of more musical styles than I care to list, Irepress have the innate ability to appeal to nearly every sort of music lover under the sun. In some instances, you can clearly hear a Deftones influence, and at others you can hear Isis. Before you know it, they’ve switched gears and moved onto a Parliament Funkadelic section, then transitioned that into something more like Converge.

The easiest way to describe the sonic variability of Irepress would be to say that they certainly fit amongst their Translation Loss brethren such as Mouth of the Architect, Rosetta and East of the Wall with their eclectic mix of styles tied into one neat little progressive and experimental package. The only real difference is that a majority of Irepress’ music is without vocals; with the amount fantastic lead guitar parts, synth overlays, and texture changes the lack of vocals are never an issue.

Check out a message from UK band Ace Bushy Striptease, a great new band with a sound that should appeal to fans of At The Drive-In, Pixies, Sonic Youth, and Pavement alike. You can download the band's most recent full length record A Little More Suspicion In Our Fairytales Plz for FREE, read below...

"Hello, good evening. We have just (just about) gotten home after our MAMMOUTH tour with 4 or 5 Magicians and yeah it was pretty eventful and we certainly played several shows. Jeremy filmed and edited together a rough-and-tumble tour video diary if you’d like to see it… I’ll put it in below this…

ALSO… in other news we’ve sold out of our most recent album on Odd Box. We have a couple of copies that we might be selling at concerts in the future but yeah you won’t be able to buy it from the internet anymore. To celebrate we’ve finally put the album up for free download HERE. You can download individual songs HERE as well if you wish but yeah see how you feel.

We’re going recording with Andy from Great Eskimo Hoax next weekend to do our 4th album. We have 14/15 songs and maybe a title and cover idea so that should be lovely. Maybe we’ll tell you how it went." - Simon

Good Old War will be taking it out on the road again! First off with Dr Dog and Here We Go Magic then meeting up with Joshua Radin and Kelley James. For December they will be heading out with Dashboard Confessional for some shows before ending with their own Hometown headliner in Philly at The TLA on 12/17. Don’t miss them when they come to your town.

[theprp.com] Mogwai have set “Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will” as the title to their new album. The effort will see a February 14th release date overseas via Rock Action with a North American release set for February 15th through Sub Pop. The track listing for the outing runs as follows:

A limited edition version of the album is also being prepared and will come with a bonus CD. It will feature a 26 minute long piece entitled “The Singing Mountain” which was tracked for the “Monument For Forgotten Future” installation in Essen, Germany. In other news, the band have the following extensive global touring plans lined up:

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

[press release] Garnering increasing acclaim in their native Australia with their first two albums, we are proud to finally present Melbourne trio My Disco’s third full-length, the truly brilliant and enigmatic Little Joy. The album will be released in the US on January 25th, 2011 by Temporary Residence.

As always with My Disco [featuring former members of Clann Zu!!!], the most fascinating and unique element to their sound is space – long, deep, sometimes scary space. Their defiance of rock music’s time-worn tropes is what defines them, and Little Joy explores and expands on that concept, stretching a naked few instruments to transform short blasts into heavy, rhythmic, meditative body music. The bare bones of a drum beat, a rumbling bass, one repeated phrase and some bursts of feedback add up to a wholly compelling world of sounds between sounds. Shards of vaguely recognizable post-punk riffs fuse pounding, euphoric rhythms to hypnotic, almost psychedelic vocal mantras. The result is a new take on an old idea that occupies the unlikely space between Boredoms, The Necks, Wire and Liars.

Recorded by Steve Albini and mixed by Scott Horscroft, My Disco’s minimalist instincts are perfectly suited for Albini’s famously austere productions and Horscroft’s textured, pop-leaning sensibilities. This unlikely marriage is at the heart of Little Joy’s success. It’s the sound of a band using the fewest tools to create the greatest range of possibilities – a record both expansive and minimal, a compressed expression of vast emotions.

“This is crushingly, terrifyingly great: so far ahead of the pack as to be in a different universe altogether... This is the dance music of the 2010's.” – The Vine

“The minimalist trio don't so much defy convention as simply deny it, sidestepping genre and tradition to smash together their own sound. Identifiable elements include shards of black noise, striking percussion, lyrical snatches delivered with prosecutorial zeal and pulmonary bass parts.The band have used the ethos of the DIY scene they came out of to craft a fascinating sound, where repetition gives way to harsh beauty” – Craig Mathieson, The Age

*Fresh off a six year hiatus, A Perfect Circle perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight (12:05 am/11:05 pm cst). The band recently announced a west coast U.S. tour which sold out in under one minute. The tour kicks off Nov. 4 in Phoenix and makes stops in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and Las Vegas. The band (Maynard James Keenan, Billy Howerdel, James Iha, Josh Freese and Matt McJunkins) will perform their three album's in their entirety on consecutive nights.

*A message from the Pixies... "We're writing to let you know that we've just released an all new PixiesMusic.com. It feels like the right time for the band to have a proper home, share some music, and provide a place for fans and the band to communicate. We'll be releasing live shows once a week starting immediately, and have posted a free show (Live at Coachella, 2004) just for you through the end of the week. Since you're on the list, you can get the free show HERE."

After a lengthy wait, Irepress have returned with a brand new single, "Shaolin Knights". The much anticipated track can be streamed and downloaded from their Bandcamp page or below. The band have also re-hauled their Myspace page in honor of the new single and their upcoming European tour with Constants. Here's what the guys had to say about the single...

"Come listen to Irepress' return to our roots with "Shaolin Knights", a song dedicated to the friends and family that made us who we are and the days we will never forget. We'll be here forever. Lets do this!"

The World Concave have made their fantastic debut EP 'Harbor' available as a "pay-what-you-want" download from Bandcamp one month before the physical release!! Download instantly with an email address without any other obligations/sign-ups. If you are kind enough to donate $5 or more, you will receive an email back asking if you'd like the physical CD mailed to you at no extra charge (if so, please reply with your mailing address)." The album is available to stream/download HERE!!

OVERVIEW:

The members of The World Concave crafted a “mini-album” of somber, thought-provoking songs, melodically gliding along an indie rock timeline. Although reminiscent of classic alternative/college rock, their debut 7-song CD, Harbor, is a memorable batch of songs, sounding non-contrived in the modern day. There’s a good amount of soul-bearing going on here, yet suspicions of over-earnestness are dowsed in exchange for thought provoking conversations amongst the subject matter. Alongside detailed percussion, dynamic guitars and melancholic piano, there’s enough going on here to call this heady music for the heavy hearted.

BACKGROUND:

Though mostly written and recorded over the greater part of 2009/2010, there are ideas on Harbor that date back about 10 years, as members of The World Concave have been in and out of multi-genre based musical projects together for longer. From post-hardcore to eclectic instrumental jazz-rock, these musical projects are what added character to the more focused songwriting you’ll find here. The timing seemed right to finally assemble a band and pull these ideas together. Once the ball was rolling, the chemistry hit at an all time high and a set of moody alternative rock songs resulted fairly quick. Although various portions were realized in their individual homes, the band tracked the majority of Harbor at Portrait Recording Studios in Pompton Plains, NJ — a large three-floor barn turned state-of-the-art recording studio, which only added to the creative process.

QUICK POINTS:

• The World Concave consists of members from (Damn) This Desert Air, Ex Number Five, Elemae, The Fire Still Burns, M.N.B.

I got a chance to speak with Hopewell frontman/guitarist Jason Russo shortly before the band's set at Tee Pee Records' showcase during CMJ. We got the chance to discuss their upcoming live albums, future plans, and being one of the "lighter" bands on their record label...

EIS: You’re about to release your first live album Hopewell Live Vol. 1 after the band has been together for such a long time. What made you decide that now was the time to do it?

Jason Russo: Someone offered to do it. A producer that we mixed the last two records with… well basically everyone has been saying for many many years that there’s a huge difference between the records and the live band, and I’ve been saying “yes… we like it that way”. The guy who mixed our last couple of records was really itching to do something. For a living he multi-tracks symphonies, so we said “OK, that’s a good resume, have at it!” It all came together once we said ok, we ended up playing a festival up in the Catskills called Truck America, and he brought his mobile recording rig. He also works for WFMU here and there so he managed to get the multi-tracks from the All Tomorrows Party Festival from the year before, and tracked the Truck performance. We felt safe in Damon Whittemore’s hands.EIS: Are you guys self releasing this or will it be coming out on Tee Pee?

JR: Tee Pee’s not releasing it yet. They might be doing it on vinyl. We are self releasing it on our digital label.EIS: So it will be digital only at first?

JR: At first, yeah. It’s a two part release, so Vol. 1 is Hopewell as we are now. Volume 2 is… at Truck the guys who put on the festival asked us to some of our old stuff because they like the poppier… or what passes for pop music in Hopewell. [laughs]

EIS: Do you guys ever mix the two sounds of the old and new material live?

JR: Yeah… sometimes. It kinda depends on the vibe of the room. We very rarely play the real catchy songs. We put out a record maybe five years ago that was our take on pop, and it’s my least favorite one personally, but also weirdly it’s been the one that’s been used in TV shows the most. While I can’t stand it, it’s made a bunch of money, so I guess it’s good that we did it… I don’t know. We wouldn’t be solvent as a business if we hadn’t done it.

EIS: Since we’re at the Tee Pee showcase I wanted to ask… you guys don’t quite fit the “Tee Pee sound” as far as what people have come to expect from the label, how did you end up signed there?

JR: Tee Pee has a long history of trying to break out of their own mold, and they keep trying. I don’t know if they ever will, but I got to credit they’re very brave for trying. They keep trying to do psych music that’s not just heavy. They tried with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, they tried with The Warlocks, and all the other “lighter” bands. It’s funny, if you put Hopewell on a bill with actual indie-pop bands, we’d seem like very heavy dudes. You put us on a Tee Pee showcase and we’re the lighter side, which is weird because we’re not very light at this point.

EIS: Are you guys looking to do any touring in support of the live album?

JR: Yeah, we’re going out for at least the first half of November with The Dandy Warhols. After that I don’t think we will be doing anything until around SXSW time when Volume 2 comes out.

EIS: Will you be recording or writing during that time off?

JR: We are mixing Live Vol. 2 which is more of a pain in the ass than I thought it would be. We also have this project that we’ve been working on for about a year now that’s kind of a long story, but it’s a covers record. Us playing covers then getting our musical heroes to sing them. Part of the reason it’s been taking so long is because our musical heroes are all either crazy [laughs] or hard to nail down.

JR: [laughs] Yeah… it’s like pulling teeth. We got Mark Gardener from Ride is singing on an Eno cover which I’m excited about. That one was easy, he’s a good guy. They’re all good guys, he was just easy to nail down. I haven’t yet asked Neil Halsted [Slowdive / Mojave 3] but I’m working on him. EIS: Are you going to reach out to Perry Farrell?

JR: I’ve been trying for years man!

EIS: Is he just not responsive?

JR: I don’t really know anybody in that world, that’s old school, you know? Instead we’re just gonna be better than Jane’s Addiction until they notice. There’s a band called Home from the 90’s that I really loved, and we’re gonna get some of those guys to play. There’s a band I really loved when we started Hopewell called Rollerskate Skinny, not to many people know about them anymore but they were kind of like the Irish My Bloody Valentine, and I’m looking to hit them up as well.EIS: Speaking of Jane’s Addiction, you covered “Of Course” on Live Vol. 1 [stream it below], was that something you guys were at all hesitant to do with all the comparisons, or was it something you wanted to prove you could do and make your own?

JR: I’m trying to think which came first, because we’ve been covering that for a couple years. We love Jane’s Addiction, we grew up in suburban New York, just wandering around that wasteland listening to Jane’s Addiction and smoking pot. To us that brings back awesome memories of childhood. We’re totally fine with the comparison, we don’t mind it at all. So… yeah, I guess we wanted to show we could do it. Some reviewer said it well, we’re like the parts of Jane’s Addiction without the cheesy metal guitar solos. Dave Navarro’s great and all that, but we don’t have any of that element, so by doing a Jane’s cover it shows what we do in that format which is the tribal stuff basically.

EIS: Jason, thanks so much for doing the interview, it’s been a pleasure. Hopewell Live Vol. 1 will be available digitally on November 2nd, be sure to grab a copy!

[fourtheye.net] There’s an excellent interview with Danny [Carey] on Aussie site Faster Louder this morning. He talks about preparations for the tour and touches on the new album as well:

What can we expect from this Tool show that differs from the band’s previous Big Day Out appearance in 2007?

"Definitely different lighting features, props and visual delights I guess! Not a lot of new music but we’ll try to mix it up as much as we can, maybe pull out a few oldies that people may not have heard in quite a while. Maybe give a few hints of some things that we’ve been working on in between songs. Who knows. Maybe by then we may even have a couple of new songs to play. We’re working on them daily so it kind of depends on how far along we get.

There definitely will be big visual surprises. It won’t be what you saw last time. There’ll be some of the similar elements in certain songs that we’re happy with how they’ve developed visually."

Also interesting is the possibility of digital releases:

The music industry has seen a lot of changes in recent times, with the continued decline in album sales and the increase in both legal and illegal downloads. How will Tool attack the digital market/world or will you just stick to the conventional CD release?

"It’s kind of tough. The thing that we sort of disappointed about is that the way it’s all set up is that it’s catering to short attention spans rather than selling albums, they’d [the record companies] would rather sell a single or a lot of the time, butchered down versions of singles. It’s a sad situation because we’ve always put a big importance on buying albums as a single piece of art. We attempt to present our albums as albums and we’re actually negotiating with our record company and different people to release our stuff in the digital format. We wanted to make a point that the digital downloads can be available at the highest quality that technology will allow, even doing it at a higher level than any of our CDs. That is a positive side of the whole technological advancement in music."

While I understand the desire to release albums in the format of their choice, it’s good to see that they aren’t turning their back on the digital world completely!

"We were sort of talking about re-releasing our catalog and updating our whole system of how we communicate with our fans, because the band started pre-internet, pre-cell phone, pre-pre-pre-everything," Cameron said.

"A new generation of rock fans are discovering 30-year-old bands via a game like Guitar Hero," added Cornell. "It's like try to get a larger picture of what we do musically out there to a younger generation."

When asked if there are any plans to get back in the studio Thayil joked: "Let's say 'yes' in this interview, and 'no' in the next one."

Watch the chat below.

SOUNDGARDEN will be the musical guests on Conan O'Brien's upcoming TBS late-night talk show on Tuesday, November 9. Also scheduled to appear are Tom Hanks and Jack McBrayer.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

[consequenceofsound.net] It’s been a whirlwind for Cage The Elephant since the April 2009 release of their self-titled LP. In that time, they’ve been pounding the pavement, playing shows and festivals across the world. While fans were often whipped into a frenzy at their live gigs, that feeling was seconded only by the intense anticipation for a new album. Well, patient fans one and all, your wait is over as the band ready their sophomore LP, Thank You, Happy Birthday. No, thank YOU (via The Tennessean).

The story goes that the band spent the last two years on the road accumulating “80 songs’ worth of ideas” for the new record, somehow dwindling them down to the 13 songs that make up the final tracklist (which you can peep below.) According to a press release, that process involved locking themselves in a cabin in their home state of Kentucky, where they “discovered old albums from The Pixies, Mudhoney, and Butthole Surfers and studied interviews with songwriting greats like Bob Dylan and John Lennon.” Somehow we think whiskey was also included in their journey.

The album hits stores on that most magical of days, 1/11/11, via Jive Records. If you can’t wait that long, you can also get a copy of their Record Store Day “Black Friday” 7″ vinyl of “Shake Me Down”/“Aberdeen”, which hits your local independent record store November 26th.